Hoping to solidify their position in the race for a UAA title, the Emory men’s basketball team took a big step forward this weekend with two road wins. Travelling first to Case Western Reserve University (Ohio), the Eagles picked up a 91-81 victory and completed the road trip with a convincing 93-77 win over Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.). Now 12-4 on the season and 3-2 in the UAA, the Eagles sit at No. 3 in the conference. Emory has nine conference games remaining to close the gap between themselves, Rochester University (N.Y.) (4-1) and league leader Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) (5-0).
After a frustrating 0-2 start to UAA play, a much-needed home win over University of Chicago (Ill.) Jan. 15 restored confidence to the team at a critical moment. Road wins are hard to come by in the UAA, and after letting a game slip at home, the Eagles needed to come up with big performances on the road.
“Our backs are against the wall,” junior guard Whit Rapp said. “We are playing catch up to Rochester and Wash U, so we don’t have any games or practices that we can take off. We are in the back seat right now and we are trying to get into the driver's seat.”
On Friday, Case Western had other plans in mind. Spurred by early contributions from junior forwards Eric and David Black, Case Western jumped ahead to a 35-22 lead in the first 16 minutes of the half.
Emory wouldn’t give up so easily. In a riveting sequence, senior forward Jim Gordon made three consecutive three-pointers in the final two minutes of the half, trimming the Case Western lead to three going into the break, 39-42.
“Jim catalyzed that run,” Rapp said. “Coming back from being down by [13] points and getting it to three by half was huge for momentum and morale.”
The beginning of the second half mirrored the first, with Case Western jumping out to a slim lead. Nevertheless, the Eagles came back, reaching a 58-58 tie halfway through the second half.
“We stayed with it, we didn’t panic, and that’s hard to do,” Head Coach Jason Zimmerman said. “It was a big last four minutes of the half and it got us back to where [we could say], ‘hey we can win this game’. I was really proud of our guys for just staying with it.”
After coming back to tie the game, a jumper from senior forward Austin Dague broke the draw and gave the Eagles a lead, one they would not relinquish. Helped by 31 points and eight rebounds from junior forward Adam Gigax, Emory rolled to a 91-81 win.
“[Gigax] can score in a lot of different ways,” Zimmerman said. “He can score inside, he can step outside, he can score in the midrange, and he is a good cutter. He puts himself in good situations.”
After spending much of Friday’s game playing from behind, Emory flipped the script Sunday. The Eagles jumped to an early 7-0 lead against Carnegie Mellon and never trailed, at one point extending the lead to 23 points. With five players in double figures, the Eagle offense threatened from all positions, highlighted by 26 points and 12 rebounds from junior forward Christopher Avant along with 11 points and 13 assists from Rapp.
“Rapp makes us go,” Dague said. “He does so much for us. He is a pass first, unselfish point guard who is always looking to get guys open. As long as we are running to our spots and making hard cuts, he is going to find us.”
With everything going Emory’s way, the Eagles coasted to a 93-77 win.
“Coach always tells us that there are two things that we can control,” Rapp said. “One is running, the other is talking, and today we just ran to our spots and executed our offense.”
The Eagles return home next weekend, taking on Brandeis University (Mass.) Friday night before a matinee performance Sunday against New York University.
